Paisano's Pizza to Open in Ashburn

In Italy, paisano means “homie” or “fellow countrymen,” but in Northern Virginia Paisano’s means gourmet pizza, pasta and salads.

In 1997, Paisano’s Pizza opened in Fair Lakes and has since grown to include several shops in the region and has become the exclusive pizza provider in the Patriot Center. Come September, Ashburn will become the newest home to the pizza establishment after it opens at Ice Rink Plaza.

“We’re excited to be in Ashburn,” said owner Fouad Qreitem. “We’ve been looking at the location for the past five years and waiting to get into Ice Rink Plaza.”

Everything at Paisano’s Pizza is made fresh, from scratch. The restaurant uses fresh ingredients, the finest Italian cheeses on the market and makes all dishes to order. In addition to your typical pizza toppings, Paisano’s offers bacon cheeseburger pizza, Santa Fe chicken pizza, Greek pizza, white pizza and Paulie’s pizza (pepperoni, fresh garlic and extra cheese), among others. The menu also includes a variety of turnovers, salads, pastas, sandwiches, wraps, subs and burgers. The dessert menu features cannolis, brownies, cheesecake, tiramisu and made-daily gelato.

“Our core values are strictly quality food and customer service,” said Qreitem.

Qreitem has been in the restaurant business for most of his life. Growing up, his family was in the fine dining business, a business that Qreitem was a part of until the restaurant was sold in 1997. At that point, he turned to the pizza industry, opening his first Paisano’s Pizza.

“I’m a native of Virginia and we’re part of the community,” he said. “We want to be there forever, sponsoring and hosting sports teams, churches, schools and being a part of community activities.”

Paisano’s will offer dine-in, carry out and delivery options. Hours will be Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

In addition to the Ashburn location, Paisano’s Pizza will open five other locations in 2011 and seven more in the 2012.